Improvement in bee-hives



vA. R. MOULTON.

` ImprovementinBee-'Hives- N0. 131,295. Patented Sep. 10, 1872.

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AMOS R. MOULTON, OF FALL BRANCH, TENNESSEE.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,296, datedSeptember l0, 1872.

Specification describing a new and useful Improvement in Bee-Hives,invented by AMOS lt. MOULTQN, of Fall Branch, in thecounty of Washingtonand State of Tennessee. n

This invention relates to an improvement in bee-hives, which shall be ofsuch a const-ruction as to enable every portion of the same to be openedor unfolded with the greatest facility for the purpose of inspection,removal of honey, refuse matter, Ste., as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed. A

The main feature of my invention consists in the employment of abee-feeding device,

which shall serve, also, as a division-plate for dividing the upperportion of the hive, in which the surplus honey-boxes are situated, intotwo compartments. of my invention consists in the provision of areversible bent plate and means for attaching it to the hive, so that itcan be used as a door for closing the bee-entrance, and as a platformfor the same.

In the drawing, Figure l is a longitudinal -section of the 'hive throughline y y, Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through line xx, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a planor top view.

A represents the base of the hive, in which is cut an opening, to thesides of which metallic strips are applied in such a manner as to form ahopper-shaped opening, C, having inclined sides, and leaving, also, aspace, D, between the strips and sides of the opening, to prevent theupward passage of the moths. E is a sliding drawer, which is fitted intoa chamber formed in the base A, and which, in con`n nection with thehopper-shaped opening, serves as a trap for moths, as the saine will,upon their entrance into the hive, fall through the opening into thedrawer in which, by reason of the superior advantages offered by thecollection in said drawer of the refuse matter dropping down from theinterior of the hive, the breeding process of the moths will take place.Fis the stationary front wall of the hive, to which are hinged the sideboards G, which carry, respectively, one-half of the rear walls H,which, when closed, will overlap each other, when they are securedbymeans of hooks and staples, or equivalent fastening n devices. I is acover, hinged to the front'wall F, and having vertical flanges which tover the tops of .the side and rear walls to form a The second featuretight joint, said cover being also provided withv suitable fasteningdevices. K represents the brood or comb frames, which are hinged, attheir front ends, to the hive by means of hooks a, attached to the same,and staples or eyes b on the sides of the frames.' The variouscombframes open from .the center of the hive outward, a-s the leaves ofa book, one-half moving in one direction, and the opposite half inareverse direction, and the frames are also capable of being easilyremoved from their hinges by simply raising the same, thus in no mannerdisturbing the bees, and thereby making the production of artificialswarms an easy matter. L are the comb-guides, which are formed of squarestrips of wood applied to the combframes in such a manner that two oftheir corners shall be perpendicular to the top bar of the comb-frame;or, in other words, be placed diagonally in the frame, so as to leave anairspace between top of the comb-frame and guide-piece, thereby causingthe bees to commence the formation of the combat the corner of theguide-piece, and, of necessity, thus pro ducing a straight comb. M arethe surplus honey-boxes or crates, which are arranged in tiers, or aboveeach other in chambers formed by the upper port-ions of the side andrear walls of the hive, and the inner wall N attached to the former. Thehoney-boxes M are supported upon horizontal flanges attached to thereceiving-chambers, and are combined with perforated removable metallicplates N2, which may be interposed between the two tiers of boxes, orbelow or above the same, as desired. When the plates are situated abovethe upper boxes the bees have access to all of them; and when placedbetween the two tiers the communication with the upper boxes is closed;and if arranged belowthe lower boxes the entire upper space of the hiveisolated.

From this descriptionit will be perceived that swarms of bees of varioussizes may be accommodated by the simple transposition of thedividing-plates, and in winter, when it is desirable to close thecommunication of the lower with the upper part of the hive, it can beeasily effected by inserting the plates be low the lower boxes, whenthehoney contained in them is protected from the bees without thenecessity of removing it from the hive.

O is a device for feeding the bees, consisting of a wooden frame coveredwith metal, and divided into several compartments for the reception ofdifferent feeding materials, such as honey, sweetened water, andrye-meal. The bottom of the feeder is formed by a perforated plate,through which the bees are enabled to extract their food, and the upperpart of the saine is provided with filling-orifices closed by tightplugs. The feeder is so situated in relation to the hive, that, whenclosed, it will occupy the central portion of the same, and Will, by itspeculiar arrangement between the surplus honey-chambers, form adivision-plate dividing the same into two lateral compartments. A trapfor catching drones or robber bees is formed by a chamber in the base ofthe hive, situated in front of the proper entrances to the hive, and bya tube, Q, passing obliquely through the inclined platform'R of thehive, and communicating with the trap or chamber l?, which is further'provided with an opening in its front end closed by a perforated slidingplate, S.

To capture the drones itis only necessary to close the entrances of thehive when the same are absent therefrom, and then op en the sliding capT, applied to the upper end of the tube Q, which opens an externalcommunication with the trap P. The drones upon their return to the hiveand upon finding the entrances closed, will seek an entrance through thetube Q, when they are precipitated in the chamber below, from whencetheir escape is impossible. To allow of the egress from said chamber ofthe worker-bees which should have passed into the same, the slidingplate S is raised to eX- pose an opening sufficiently large for theirexit, which the drones, by reason of their size, are unable to effect.

V V are openings serving as entrances, formed in the front wall of thehive, and arranged above each other. Said openings are combined withbent plates W W, partially perforated, and capable of being reversed toeither bring their perforated or unperforated portions opposite theentrance-openings, as may be desired. The upper plate, W, is alsocapable of being used as a platform for thel closed side walls, andarranged in the center of the honey-chamber, for dividing the same intotwo lateral compartments, as herein shown and described.

2. The bent plate W, in combination with the guide-strip X and stop Z,to adapt it for being used as means for closing the bee-entrance, and asa platform for the same, substantially as specified.

AMOS R. MOULTON.

Vitnesses: Q

W. WELLs, WILLIAM M. Woon.

